We receive a of email from
readers who all have one simple question; "what heatsink should I get?" If they
are looking for a quiet heatsink so they can get some sleep, or watch movies, I usually tell them to get a Zalman. If on the other hand they are looking for a high performance heatsink I tend to suggest two companies over and over. One of those companies is Thermal Integrations and the other is Arkua. Both make heatsinks based on the same principle, and that principle is extremely efficient.

Sure Coolermaster, Vantec and Thermaltake have made some good heatsinks in the past, but when it comes to the best performance per dollar, it is Arkua and Thermal Integrations heatsinks which usually stand out (to be fair, we haven't tested that many Alpha heatsinks, so I can't really say either way how well they stand in comparison).

In any case, the 628 is one of the newer
models from Arkua, and one that has more than its share of similarities to the
original Thermoengine. This heatsink has tested extremely well, which is a bit
surprising for its small size.

One
of the more interesting parts of
the Arkua 628 is the recessed section
which has been cut out of the center. After removing the
fan, clip and other parts we can see the top
of the copper slug which has been inserted into the center of the
heatsink.

The copper
is press fit into a
space which is just slightly smaller
than its outside diameter so the two metals make very good
thermal contact. It would be pretty useless to set in
the copper block, an then fill in the spaces with thermal compound after
all!

The top of
the copper is not finished in any way because there is really no need for ti to be, but the base has been cut flat along with
a bit of the surrounding aluminum so that it makes a
perfect mounting surface. The last thing we would really want
to see is the copper sticking up above the surface of the surrounding
aluminum.